Companion Animal Clinic

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CLOSED NOW - Opens at 8:00am

Dr. Smith is the best vet ever. She actually cares and is there 24/7. She has been there for me and my pets no matter what. She is a wonderful, compassionate vet and a beautiful person. Thank you Dr. Kathleen Smith for being there for me!
Julie Sagona

years ago when my daughter was only 12 years old her cat Stormy died suddenly. He started foaming at the mouth and just fell over. I knew he was gone but my daughter begged me to call Dr. Smith to see if she could do anything for him. It was after hours and she knew she could not do anything, but she had me bring Stormy in and talked to my daughter so lovingly and told her there was nothing she could do. She did not charge for that visit and Katie got a beautiful card from her. She did not have to do that. She didn't even charge us. I will not take my animals anywhere but her. Love her to pieces. She has always been great with our cats and my daughter.

DR. KATHLEEN SMITH kept Keith Manley's puppy in her freezer for over 4 weeks after he died while she was neutering him instead of turning him over to the crematorium. How can she claim to care about animals?? BE WARNED.

I can’t begin to express how amazing of a Vet Dr. Smith is! I’ve met several Veterinarians over the years as I’m an active animal shelter volunteer in the Rockford & Chicago area; she is by far one of the most amazing & loving people I’ve ever met. She won’t nickel & dime you; her practice is to care for the animals & their health, where she takes her time, doesn't rush her appointments or charge outrageous prices to pet owners. There’s a reason why I’ve kept her as my Veterinarian for the last 11.5 years as that’s because of the love her & her Vet Techs have for animals & her big heart. Dr. Smith, thank you for all that you do! I can’t express enough the gratitude I have for you & your team taking care of Scotch over the years. You are the best of the best in my eyes!

Great Vet but horrible salesman - Penalized for shopping outside their prescription - Wait times are brutal

We have been with Dr. Smith for years and love her. Yes, we have had to wait after our appointment time BUT we have had to emergencies (1: a foreign object lodged in a cat's mouth and 2 a dog hit by a car) both times we have been seen immediately in front of everyone else that was scheduled and sitting in the office waiting. With this in mind I am am patient with the late running schedule. I always call before my appointment to see how they are running as far as keeping the appointment time. If needed I come later or reschedule.



As far as the cost of meds, I will gladly put the money in Doc's business than save a few bucks on a prescription elsewhere. She is more than reasonable on her prices for services.



They are old fashioned in their practices but I love their compassion and the fact that she knows each animal's name and history. I have seen her in Walmart at 7:00 in the morning with her cart filled with cat litter.



Use cash if you do want to wait for your check to clear.



Love her and will NEVER change.

I have gone to Champion Animal Clinic for many years and refuse to go anywhere else. People don't like Dr. Smith's people skills, but so what. She's not your Dr.. She

is your animals Dr. and I know my animals have always loved her. Yes, they do run behind and don't notify you. Does your personal Dr.run late and call you? Mine doesn't. Don't likethe checks being held, then bring cash. There's an ATM across the street. Her prices are very reasonable and using cash helps keep her prices low, and with her excellent care with the pet, the wait and your inconvenience of using cash or check that doesn't get cashed right away is well worth it. Yes, she is a bit old school and being a little bit more up to date would be great and help out more. But, overall I would say that is about the only real complaint I have with the place. People need to realise that she is the only vet there and she does get emergencies all the time that makes appointments run behind. What if that emergency was with your animal? Wouldn't you be glad that she bumped you in ahead of others? Other Dr.'s do the same depending on what kind of Dr. they are. Oh, and with checks not being put through right a ways proves she not in it for the money. She is very delicate to her career and your animal. I've driven by at 11p.m. and have seen her walking dogs that are probably being boarded and are getting one on one attention and taken out one more time before bed instead of being forced to hold it till morning. Come on people, give her a break and appreciate that old school Dr. care.

DO NOT GO HERE!! Worst Customer service iv ever experienced. They are unorganized and won't cash your checks for 9 months. When you call them about anything they say they'll leave a message with someone and have them call you back, but never follow through! Iv called them to complain about my check and never got an apology or any type of sympathy. They finally called me back 9 months later to ask if it was okay to cash my check ( this was two days before Christmas ) and I told them to not cash it til Friday after Christmas, but of course they cashed it on Christmas eve causing my account to overdraft. I had to pay a overdraft fee of $40. I called to speak with whoever was highest in charge to complain but of course they said we'll have her call you back when she's not busy. This place is so unprofessional it makes me wonder how they are still in business!!!!

Dr. Smith is very compassionate and has excellent animal skills. She is quite quirky and her people skills are lacking. When she explains something to you she talks about 80 miles an hour. Although she speaks fast I never feel rushed during my appointment. I have had her as a vet for 18 years, through several cats, and a dog. She is old school and not aggressive with treatment, which I like. Now the negatives: if your appointment is for 4pm, you can plan on not getting in to see the doctor until 4:45pm. I have waited as long as 1 1/2 hours beyond my scheduled time. They are NOTORIOUS for running behind. It wouldn't be so bad if they called and said they were running behind, but they never let you know. I have also arrived on time for my appt, and the person ahead of me did not show for his appt. He showed up after I did and they still took him in first. They only take cash and check, which in today's world is an inconvenience. (I own a small business and take credit cards for the convenience of the customer). Once you write the said check to Companion, it will not be cashed for several weeks. I don't know why they hand onto them, but they will for weeks. You can call in the morning to fill a need for food or medicine with the expectation of picking it up that evening. However, expect to wait in line as little as 5 minutes or as long as 30 minutes. The service is thorough but VERY SLOW! Due to the slow service I ordered monthly heartworm medication online and the website needed to confirm the prescription with Dr. Smith. Companion called me to say they would charge me a $8.50 fee to write the script. They offered me a rebate of $12 to purchase through them, but I said it was about the convenience of not standing in line (my time is valuable too!) and not about the cost savings. However, I now have to go stand in line to give them a check for $8.50. When I go to my M.D. they don't charge me a fee to get my prescriptions filled at a pharmacy! I say if Companion wants to protect their business from online pharmacies then they need to improve their customer service instead of charging a $8.50 fee for a script. I will be changing vets.

I've always liked Companion Animal Clinic-- we've taken our dog there for his yearly check-ups for a few years. They have always been fairly priced, very easy to get to and get an appointment, but recently I tried to order my dog's prescription thru a well-known online site to save money and was told that the clinic would charge $8 just to release the prescription and then would charge $23 next year to test my dog for heartworms just because I did not purchase the prescription thru the clinic. I am very sad to leave a good veterinarian, but be aware the business practices of Companion Animal Clinic are in VERY bad taste!!! Plan to buy all of your pet's prescription needs thru the clinic at their prices or be penalized!